The Lowdown On Cloud Computing

The Lowdown on Cloud Computing

Diane M. Duhé Metcalf

November 9, 2012

Data needs to be mobile, transferable, shareable, and instantly accessible. As

businesses search for the means to decrease costs, improve flexibility and remain

responsive in the constantly changing technology environment, many are considering

cloud computing.

The definition of Cloud computing, or virtualization, is: the ability to use computing

resources, on demand, via the internet.(1) It eliminates, or drastically reduces the

operating expenditures for the purchasing and maintaining of IT resources, and

infrastructure, because these resources are managed by a service provider. Since the

resources are dynamic, they can be easily and quickly adjusted to address the changing

needs and demands of the organization, and they are scalable and are fast becoming a

trusted and innovative IT management solution.

The transition from the PC era to the cloud era is clearly and quickly happening. The

cloud is favorably viewed by the majority of Americans, and the cloud can immeasurably

improve the balance between work and personal lives”, says Kim DeCarlis, vice

president of corporate marketing at Citrix (2)

In the cloud era, configuring and managing cloud services will remain in the IT

professional’s domain, but the majority of the infrastructure tasks will be jettisoned. The

remaining IT tasks will include monitoring, configuring, and integrating with the existing

data center services like Active Directory, and undertakings such as the acquisition of

hardware, installing operating systems and managing patches will become the

responsibility of the cloud provider. (3)

There are three types of cloud computing available today:

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) or Hardware as a Service

Infrastructure as a Service means that the hardware and infrastructure (IE: data center

and communications) are delivered by a service provider. The organization does not

own servers, hardware, or communications. IaaS offers power, storage, and

infrastructure such as firewalls, as a service via the internet.

Platform as a Service (PaaS)

Platform as a Service is an additional layer to Infrastructure as a Service. PaaS offers

the runtime environment , or platform, for compiled application code, including the

software. The platform is configured with the required software foundation, such as

Microsoft SQL Server, and is ready for building upon.(4)

Software as a Service (Saas)

Software as a Service is, basically, software-on-demand. Complete on-demand

applications are available from some SaaS vendors, and are able to run from any

browser, via the internet. These application files may be stored on giant, off-site hard

drives on server farms. Or Web-based applications may be used instead, being

accessible via PC, tablet or mobile phone, via a connection to the internet. (5) Just as

software has essentially displaced hardware in the area of communications, the cloud

will displace software, and the cloud will become the standard environment for working

with software.(6)

Advantages of Cloud Computing

One is advantage for using a cloud computing service provider is that cloud computing

minimizes the cost of employing internal IT staff, because all of the necessary resources

are managed by the provider. Hardware, power, upgrading, as well as the IT support can

be included in the service providers cloud solution.(7) This means that the Internal IT

department will move toward data center consolidation in the cloud, freeing themselves

to concentrate on business issues such as developing/supporting critical applications

that generate revenue, and making plans for the future, instead of doing mundane tasks

such as deploying server patches, and performing maintenance.

Cloud computing for businesses can mean significant savings in energy and software

costs as well. By moving to Web Mail from an e-mail program, or transitioning from

locally installed antivirus protection to cloud antivirus protection, expenditures can be

reduced.

Cloud computing has also been shown to lower the environmental impact of technology

through its’ improved competencies.

For individuals, using “the cloud” could mean using free storage space (Dropbox) and/or

accessing a range of free or affordable personal use services, such as Google gmail,

documents, spreadsheets, calendars or software such as Apple’s iCloud , which allows

the syncing of several Apple device so that no matter which Apple device is used, the

same file can be accessed from any of them. (8) The “desktop” is losing its relevance to

virtual desktops, hosted software and virtual storage.

Is it really a good idea to place valuable and/or sensitive data in the cloud? Many experts

believe that the majority of IT will be virtualized (virtual servers, hosted applications,

virtual desktops) over the next decade. For those individuals who are uncomfortable,

want to minimize risks, or simply go slowly, SaaS’s like Google Apps are a great way for

individuals to move into the cloud at a pace that is comfortable for them.

For businesses, implementing a governance and security strategy to address specific

company needs for their valuable resources, is imperative. Companies who move to the

cloud without having these strategies in place, will risk losing control of their IT

References

1. Lewis , Curt, “Everything You Need to Know About Cloud Computing” June 7, 2012, Date Accessed:10/22/12 , http://blog.vistage.com/technology/everything-you-need-to-know-about-cloud-computing/

2. Klimas, Liz, “Have You Pretended to Know What ‘the Cloud’ Is? You’re Not Alone”, August 31, 2012, Date Accessed-10/22/12, http://www.theblaze.com/stories/have-you-pretended-to-know-what-the-cloud-is-youre-not-alone/

3. Miley, John, “7 Things You Need to Know About Cloud Computing” March 2012, Date Accessed: 10/22/12 http://m.kiplinger.com/article.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fkiplinger.com%2Fmagazine%2Farchives%2Fthings-to-know-about-cloud-computing.html





http://blog.vistage.com/technology/everything-you-need-to-know-about-cloud-computing/






http://m.kiplinger.com/article.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fkiplinger.com%2Fmagazine%2Farchives%2Fthings-to-know-about-cloud-computing.html








http://www.theblaze.com/stories/have-you-pretended-to-know-what-the-cloud-is-youre-not-alone/

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/have-you-pretended-to-know-what-the-cloud-is-youre-not-alone/





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The Lowdown On Cloud Computing